In spite of solid performances from all players, Anstey 2 missed out to take anything from their away game against a strong Loughborough 2 side

Competitive league chess is finally back, and this year the Anstey Chess Club will participate in all five divisions of the Leicestershire Chess League. And to top it up, the club will even have two teams in one division, a precedent in our short but rich history. Making their debut in division 2, a full of hope Anstey 2 went to the Fennel Street Club in Loughborough to face their second team. It was an unfortunate night for our team who only narrowly missed out on taking something out of the game in spite of playing against very strong opposition.

The newly elected second team captain Boris The Toaster could not use his full team with The Griller unavailable for this fixture, and invited George from the first team to make his debut for the Anstey Chess Club in the league. The captain decided to step down himself and watch on the side as young Ted also made his league debut for our club, having played for Loughborough in the summer. The line-up was completed by the second team faithfuls Matt The Dark Destroyer, Rob and John The Torturer. Facing them was a overall higher rated and also strong Loughborough 2 team, with their captain Ben Carpernter-Friend leading the team on top board.

Having arguably the hardest task, George was the first to finish his game on board one against the away team captain, unlucky to tangle himself a bit in the opening. Facing a fast improving player in his opponent, George found himself led into “muddy” waters by Black and was unfortunate to choose a bad line for White from the get-go. Nevertheless, both players seemed to be out of prep early on, and kudos to our top board player, he was holding on in spite of having a massive knot of pieces to be untangled in the centre of the board. However, George found himself unlucky to miss an idea for Black and lose a piece in the process. A gentleman, our top board player gave his opponent the deserved respect and shook his hand. An unfortunate end of the evening for George who nevertheless had a good warm-up before returning to Loughborough the following week, seeking his revenge against their first team.

Second to finish was John The Torturer. Facing an experienced opponent across the board, John went for a sideline in the openning early on, showing his extensive knowledge not only in this part of the game, but about chess in general. His opponent showed decent awareness of the position himself, and before long, he found himself in a +1 position for White. The home team player could not find the right plan, however, and instead brought back the game into equality, with both players cautiously developing their pieces. Around move 10 the players decided to exchange queens, and after a few more piece shuffles, they decided to call it a day (or night in that case) and shake hands with a draw. A good result for more than 100 points lower rated John who shows again his class OTB.

Third to stand up from his board was Ted. The young former Loughborough player had a change of opponent in the very last minute, but unmoved by the swap started on ambitiously in the opening. The experienced Loughborough player opted for a sideline that in the book has historically favoured White, but unfortunately Ted found himself in uncharted waters and decided to go for a line that is usually better for Black. The players continued their development in a rather natural manner and left the already thin proverbial book by move 9. Our teammate decided to try and stop Black’s plans early on and exchanged a bishop for a knight, looking to exploit the extra “bad” bishop Black had, along with his own control of crucial squares in the centre. The Loughborough player decided to also exchange one of his bishops for a knight, picking surprisingly the “good” one for the swap, and giving Ted a timid +0.82 engine evaluation which at this (and even higher) level is not a necessarily a marker for substantial difference. Our teammate decided to try and create pressure on the side of the board, but Black was quick to exchange knights and to try and create pressure in the centre himself. With the players turning their attention towards the centre of the board, Black was first to take advantage and grab the extra pawn while Ted was trying to put pressure on his opponent’s backward pawn. As his plan did not work, our teammate did his best to create complications and fight back, but strong tactical ability by his opponent in an already advantageous position proved too steep a hill for young Ted to climb and Black claimed the win. In spite of the loss, a good warm-up and an important lesson for young Ted who looks to be one of the rising stars this season.

2.5-0.5 down, our team looked to be “on the ropes taking punches” and in essence getting battered. However, Rob decided to answer the barrage of proverbial punches with an uppercut of his own and to bring the team back into the match. Facing a strong opponent in Stephen Morris, Rob answered his opponent’s gambit with a “no nonsense” sensible chess, and before the end of the opening found himself safe and sound, already building a small but steady advantage. Both players continued their development naturally, with our teammate trying to consolidate while his opponent trying to create pressure early on. In his attempt to be active, however, Black went for the wrong plan and outstanding tactical awareness from Rob helped him increase his advantage and further consolidate his position. Facing a white brick wall, Black decided to exchange all of the minor pieces, and found himself with an significantly inferior position and some distant activity prospects, shrunk by every excellent move from our teammate. Another brilliant moment of tactical awareness from Rob won him an exta pawn and exchanged the two pairs of rooks at one go, and he found himself +3.78 up with only queens and pawns on the board. Luckily for our teammate, Black missed some potential stalemate chances, and before long, Rob found himself too much material and too many advanced pawns ahead, and his opponent resigned. An amazing first win for Rob for Anstey Chess Club, certainly one of many with more games to come, but definitely one to cherish against a higher rated strong opponent.

The last to finish was The Dark Destroyer. A captain of the first team, he finds himself in a peculiar position where he is also the second team’s top board. Facing a well-known opponent in the friendly Henderson Mullin, our teammate employed a solid, albeit passive-looking setup against his opponent. The players continued with a natural development, and emerged from the opening with clear plans for both sides. Matt answered his opponent’s side attack with a central one, and the players found themselves shuffling pieces in a somewhat suboptimal yet very natural way. White tried to bring all of his forces to attack the black king, but The Dark Destroyer (it’s in the name) held his ground and coordinated well his defence. With the home team player a few moves away from being able to accomplish anything significant, Matt decided to strike again in the centre, a move that the engine does not like, but again looks completely natural. A mass exchange of pieces followed, whereby the players emerged with a pair of rooks and a minor piece each, with our teammate down a pawn but (rather surprisingly) with a substantial time advantage. Unfortunately for The Dark Destroyer (and the team), the strong home team player proved himself a tough nut to crack, and after the exchange of more pieces, in a rook and pawn endgame with 0.0 evaluation, the players agreed to a draw. In spite of the result, another brilliant display from Matt who will be looking to make his mark in division 2 this season.

An unfortunate end of the match found Anstey 2 on 6th place with a game in the division still to go. Nevertheless, good opportunity for many players to get some experience and showcase their abilities. The next match for the second team is on 24^th October against the even stronger Braunstone 1 side at our home venue, the Anstey Methodist Church in Anstey.

If you want to be part of our league teams and have a fancy nickname (or no nickname at all), don’t hesitate and pop down to the Anstey Methodist Church, every Thursday from 7.30pm. All abilities welcome!